PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel one of first to sell his Facebook shares, raking in $1bn
Facebook director Peter Thiel, co-founder of online pay service PayPal, is one of the first to sell his shares within the social media giant, after its IPO, raking in around $1bn.
Thiel, who invested in the site in 2004, cashed in his 20m Facebook shares this week through its initial public offering, having initially invested $500,000.
The lock-up agreement for initial investors expired this week, with share prices for the site continuing on a downward spiral since it floated on the Nasdaq stock exchange earlier this year.
According to Bloomberg, Thiel has retained 5m shares in the company, worth $10m.
German born Thiel, who co-founded PayPal in 1998, also created the Founders Fund in 2005 to make investment in start-ups that have included Linkedin, Yammer and Quora.